Lou & Lucy’s Leftovers

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These holidays fill my head with dreams of sugar-laden treats — which is a bad thing. Not the sweets; the dreams in my head.

Even though baking is foreign territory to me, I decided to turn my dreams into reality this week. Hey, why not make a Meyer lemon pie? Hey, why not make a chocolate pie? Of course, I used pre-made pie shells (I know, I know, this is a bad thing).

The Meyer-lemon-pie dream was spurred by the bunch of Meyer lemons sitting on my kitchen counter. This pie filling was relatively easy to make. Just mix together a bunch of zest, juice, egg yolks, sugar and a few other things, then bake it at low-heat to set up.

The pie turned out pretty good, although it was a bit grainy, not as creamy and jiggly as regular lemon pie. But it tasted great, especially with some whipped cream.

Only problem: I had a slice of the pie two nights in a row. Both nights I woke up with a screaming, four-Excedrin headache.

Goodbye, pie. Threw it away.

The chocolate pie seemed simple enough. Stir together some cocoa powder and flour in a double boiler, stir in some egg yolks and vanilla extract and sugar and milk. Pour in the pie shell and chill until firm.

Only problem: the filling never set up. I even poured it back in a pot and reheated it with a cornstarch solution. Still, never firmed up.

Goodbye, pie. Threw it away.

Valuable lesson learned: Sometimes we should leave our dreams in our heads.

Next up: Trying my hand at chocolate cake.

— Lou

First question: Did you have anything with the pie? Maybe a nice snifter of scotch? Or two? I have never heard of lemon pie giving any one a headache.

Next question: You never mentioned cooking the ingredients for the chocolate pie after you put it in the double boiler. Maybe that was the problem?

Advice: Never drink and bake.

— Lucy